Mid Ulster tops recycling table third time in row

Mid Ulster Council has recorded the highest recycling rates in Northern Ireland for the third quarter running, it has been revealed.

Local residents reused, recycled and composted 49.9% of waste between October and December, 2016.

Recycling rates have been increasing within the council area in line with a Northern Ireland wide increase with all 11 councils collecting 228,631 tonnes of waste during the three-month period compared to 230,089 tonnes over the same three months in 2015.

Belfast had the worst recycling rate at 37.1%.

A council spokesperson said that although it was delighted with the response, it must not get complacent: “There is always more we can do. With new food waste regulations now in place it is more important than ever that people dispose of food waste properly in their brown bins. The council’s current food waste recycling campaign is encouraging residents to recycle more efficiently by using all of their coloured bins to the max!

“Diverting as much waste away from landfill as possible through recycling, reuse and energy recovery is a priority for the Council and in doing so communities are helping to reduce the environmental impact of landfill and to make better use of waste as a resource.”

The data records household and non-household waste that is collected and disposed of by councils, including household collections.

It includes regular household collections, specific recycling collections, special collections of bulky items, waste received at civic amenity sites and waste collected from non-household source

Northern Ireland’s councils collected 228,631 tonnes of waste between October and December 2016. This was a 0.6% decrease on the 230,089 tonnes collected during the same three months of 2015. Household waste accounts for 89.3% of total waste. Newry, Mourne & Down generated the smallest quantity of household waste per person at 97kg, whilst the largest quantity per person was recorded in Antrim & Newtownabbey at 129kg.